Mendocino County health staff want to limit alcohol licenses

While they are not asking for action now, staff at the Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency say this county has too many places to buy alcohol - including wine tasting rooms - and there should be limits placed on new ones - and even existing ones.

The agency will give a presentation Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors of statistics showing Mendocino County above the state average in things like places to buy liquor, underage drinking, assault arrests and DUIs.

The statistics also show that, in general, rural areas have an alcohol retail outlet to population density imbalance.

While the average is one alcohol retail outlet per 1,250 people statewide, in Mendocino County it is almost 2.5. Other counties with higher rates are Plumas and Trinity counties with more than 3 outlets per 1,250 people. According to the county staff chart, among the state's 20 most rural counties Siskyou, Inyo, Colusa, Mariposa all also have a ratio of more than 2 outlets per 1,250 people. In fact, all of the rural counties in the statistics have a rate higher than the statewide rate.

The state alcohol licensing board - known as the ABC board - provides on its web site the latest list of counties where new off-sale alcohol licenses are going to be allowed and the list is almost all of densely populated counties. None of the counties listed above are going to be allowed any new off-sale licenses, including Mendocino County.

The ABC board's listing of counties with such moratoriums on new "Type 20" licenses - beer and wine sales, mostly package stores - includes 46 of the state's 58 counties, in other words, most of the state.

The ABC board also has a listing of on- (restaurants, bars) and off- (retail stores, wineries) sale licenses by census tract, and wine-producing counties show higher densities of licenses by population.

Statewide there are 4,737 winery alcohol licenses, of which Mendocino County has 162, Sonoma County has 1,001, Napa County has 1,214 and Lake County has 57.

Of the Type 20 package store licenses, there are 14,967 statewide. Mendocino County has 112, Sonoma County 628 and Los Angeles 3,044.

Mendocino County staff are suggesting the county regulate new alcohol outlets by creating special zoning permits which would restrict areas where new alcohol outlets could locate. Also, they recommend the county put into place strict criteria of its own to accompany all applications for new alcohol liceneses the state gets. It also recommends putting new restrictions on existing alcohol outlets, but does not say what those would be.

Lastly, county staff are recommending more education on the dangers of alcohol and more compliance stings at local outlets.